Great Wave

by Fischer, David Hackett;

  J. Kirkland, Three Centuries of Prices of Wheat, Flour, and Bread (London, 1917).

  Abbott Payson Usher, “Price of Wheat and Commodity Price Indexes for England, 1259–1930,” Review of Economic Statistics 13 (1931) 103–13, includes a continuous series for wheat prices throughout the period, and two broken commodity indices that generally show the same pattern as Phelps-Brown and Hopkins.

  G. N. Clark, Guide to English Commercial Statistics, 1696–1782 (London, 1938).

  William Beveridge, Prices and Wages in England from the Twelfth to the Nineteenth Century (London, 1939), vol. 1 (all published), institutional prices; idem, “A Statistical Crime of the Seventeenth Century,” Journal of Economic and Business History 1 (1928–29) 503–33; idem, “Wages on the Winchester Manors,” Economic History Review 7 (1936) 22–43; “Westminster Wages in the Manorial Era,” Economic History Review 2d ser. 8 (1955–6) 18–35; “Wheat Measures in the Winchester Rolls,” Economic Journal, Economic History Supplement 2 (1930–33); “The Yield and Price of Corn in the Middle Ages,” Economic Journal, Economic History Supplement 1 (1926–29) 162–66; “Wheat Prices and Rainfall in Western Europe,” Journal of the Royal Statistical Society 85 (1922) 418–54; “Weather and Harvest Cycles,” Economic Journal 31 (1921) 421–53. All this was the product of a team effort under the auspices of the International Committee on Wages and Prices; its work is very careful and cautious, but only a small part of its materials have been published. The manuscripts are in the British Library of Political and Economic Science.

  Ernest Henry Phelps-Brown and Sheila V. Hopkins, “Seven Centuries of Building Wages,” Economica 22 (1955) 195–206; idem, “Seven Centuries of the Prices of Consumables, Compared with Builders’ Wage-Rates,” Economica 23 (1956) 196–314; “Wage-Rates and Prices: Evidence for Population Pressure in the Sixteenth Century,” Economica 24 (1957) 289–306; idem, “Builders’ Wage-Rates, Prices, and Population: Some further Evidence,” Economica 26 (1959) 18–38; idem, “Seven Centuries of Wages and Prices: Some Earlier Estimates,” Economica 28 (1961) 30–36; idem, a Perspective of Wages and Prices (London, 1981); idem, “The Course of Wage Rates in Five Countries, 1860–1939,” Oxford Economic Papers (1950) 226–96; E. H. Phelps-Brown and S. A. Ozga, “Economic Growth and the Price Level,” Economic Journal 65 (1955) 1–18; E. H. Phelps-Brown and M. H. Browne, A Century of Pay (New York, 1968); a critique appears in Robert A. Doughty, “Industrial Prices and Inflation in Southern England, 1401–1640,” Explorations in Economic History 12 (1975) 177–92.

  Joan Thirsk et al., eds., The Agrarian History of England and Wales, esp. vol. 2, 1042–1350 (Cambridge, 1988); vol. 3, 1348–1500 (1991); vol. 4, 1500–1640; vol. 5, 1640–1750 (1985); vol. 6, 1750–1850 (1989); vol. 8, 1914–39 (1978). Each volume includes chapters and appended data series on prices and wages, and much related material.

  United Kingdom: Scotland

  J. S. Moore, “Prices and Wages in Scotland, 1450–1860,” an unpublished survey of sources, issued as a report to the British Social Science Research Council, Report HR 400/1 (1970)

  Rosalind Mitchison, “The Movement of Scottish Corn Prices in the seventeenth and eighteenth Century,” Economic History Review 18 (1965) 278–91, an excellent pioneering study of Scottish price movements.

  Elizabeth Gemmill and Nicholas Mayhew, Changing Values in Medieval Scotland (Cambridge, forthcoming) will survey prices and wages in the medieval and early modern eras to ca. 1550.

  A. J. S. Gibson and T. C. Smout, Prices, Food, and Wages in Scotland, 1550–1780 (Cambridge, 1995); idem, A. J. S. Gibson, and T. C. Smout, “Regional Prices and Market Regions: The Evolution of the Early Modern Scottish Grain Market,” Economic History Review 48 (1995) 258–82.

  United States: General Studies

  G. F. Warren andF. A. Pearson, Wholesale Prices for 213 Years, 1720–1932 (Ithaca, N.Y. 1932).

  Arthur Harrison Cole, Wholesale Commodity Prices in the United States, 1700–1861 (Cambridge, Mass., 1938), with statistical supplement; Walter B. Smith and Arthur Harrison Cole, Fluctuations in American Business, 1790–1860 (Cambridge, Mass., 1935).

  United States Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 (1949; 3d ed., Washington, 1976); a collaborative venture of the Census Bureau and the Social Science Research Council, much in need of root-and-branch revision.

  Dorothy S. Brady, “Price Deflators for Final Product Estimates,” in idem, ed., Output, Employment, and Productivity in the United States after 1800 (Princeton, 1966), 91–115.

  Ethel Hoover, “Retail Prices after 1850,” and John W. Kendrick, “Retail Prices after 1850: Comment on Hoover,” in William N. Parker, ed., Trends in the American Economy in the Nineteenth Century (Princeton, 1960), 141–86, 186–90.

  Paul A. David and Peter Solar, “A Bicentenary Contribution to the Cost of Living in America,” Research in American Economic History 2 (1977) 1–80.

  Donald R. Adams Jr., “Some Evidence on English and American Wage Rates, 1790–1830,” Journal of Economic History 30 (1970) 499–520.

  Albert Rees, Real Wages in Manufacturing, 1890-1914 (Princeton, 1961).

  United States: New England

  Three generations of price history have been done in New England. The first was undertaken by a pioneer in historical statistics, Carroll Wright, who published his results in a work issued by the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics, History of Prices and Wages in Massachusetts: 175 2–1883 ed. Carroll D. Wright (Boston, 1885).

  The second generation worked in the context of the international price history committee. One major study is Ruth Crandall, ed., “Wholesale Commodity Prices in Boston during the Eighteenth Century,” Review of Economic Statistics 16 (1934) 117–28, 178–83. Another is Thurston M. Adams, “Prices Paid by Vermont Farmers for Goods and Services and Received by Them for Farm Products, 1790–1940; Wages of Vermont Farm Labor, 1790–1940” Vermont Agricultural Station Bulletin no. 507 (Burlington, 1944). This is a study of “on the farm” prices from farmers’ account books. A copy is in the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester.

  In the third generation, the leading works are by Winifred Rothenberg, “A Price Index for Rural Massachusetts, 1750–1855,” Journal of Economic History 39 (1979) 975–1001; idem, “Markets and Massachusetts Farmers, 1750–1855,” ibid. 41 (1981) 283–314; idem, “The Emergence of Capital Markets in Rural Massachusetts, 1730–1838,” ibid. 45 (1985) 781–808; idem, “The Emergence of Farm Labor Markets and the Transformation of the Rural Economy: Massachusetts, 1750–1855,” ibid, 48 (1988) 537–66; idem, From Market-Places to a Market Economy: The Transformation of Rural Massachusetts, 1750–1850 (Chicago, 1992), a much revised version of the author’s Brandeis dissertation, with much material on commodity, capital, and labor markets.

  United States: Middle States

  The major work was done in the 1930s by a team headed by Anne Bezanson. Its findings were published as Anne Bezanson et al., Prices in Colonial Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 1935); Anne Bezanson et al., Prices and Inflation during the American Revolution: Pennsylvania, 1770–1790 (Philadelphia, 1951); Anne Bezanson et al., Wholesale Prices in Philadelphia, 1784–1861 (Philadelphia, 1936); Anne Bezanson, “Inflation and Controls in Pennsylvania, 1774–1779,” Tasks of Economic History, 8 (1948). On wage movements there is Donald R. Adams Jr., “Wage Rates in the Early National Period: Philadelphia, 1785–1830,” Economic History Review 27 (1968) 404–26.

  United States: The South

  There is no general work on the history of prices in the American South. Special studies include Russell R. Menard, “Farm Prices of Maryland Tobacco, 1659–1710,” Maryland Historical Review 68 (1973) 83–85; idem, “A Note on Chesapeake Tobacco Prices, 1618–1660,” Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 89 (1976) 401–10; Jacob Price, France and the Chesapeake (2 vols., Ann Arbor, 1973), which includes tobacco prices before 1791; Donald R. Adams Jr.,“Trices and Wages in Maryland, 1750–1850,” Journal of Economic History 46 (1986) 625–47; A. G. Pe
terson, “Historical Study of Prices Received by Producers of Farm Products in Virginia, 1801–1927,” Technical Bulletin of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute (1929); George Rogers Taylor, “Wholesale Commodity Prices at Charleston, South Carolina, 1732–1791,” Journal of Economic History 4 (1921–22) 356–77; “Wholesale Commodity Prices at Charleston, South Carolina, 1796–1801,” ibid. 848–67, plus appended unpaged tables.

  United States: The West

  The standard compilation is Thomas Senior Berry, Western Prices before 1861: A Study of the Cincinnati Market (Cambridge, 1943). Specialized compilations include Henry Ellis White, An Economic Study of Wholesale Prices at Cincinnati, 1844–1914 (Ithaca, 1935); Howard Houk, A Century of Indiana Farm Prices, 1841 to 1941 (Lafayette, Ind., 1943); George Rogers Taylor, “Prices in the Mississippi Valley preceding the War of 1812,” Journal of Economic and Business History 3 (1930) 148–63; Thomas Senior Berry, Early California: Gold, Prices, and Trade (Richmond, 1984).

  Venezuela

  Robert J. Ferry, “The Price of Cacao, Its Export, and Rebellion in Eighteenth-Century Caracas,” in Lyman L. Johnson and Enrique Tandeter, eds., Essays on the Price History of Eighteenth-Century Latin America (Albuquerque, 1990), 309–34

  Yugoslavia

  J. Tadic, Organizacija dubrowaczkog pomortstwa u XVI veku (Belgrade, 1949); idem, “Les archives économiques de Raguse,” Annales E.S.C. 16 (1961)1168–75.

  Serial Publications

  During the nineteenth century, many nations began to issue statistical yearbooks which often included prices and wages. These compendia contain strong biases. Most governments have used their statistical reports as political instruments, to minimize their problems and exaggerate their strengths. Communist regimes treated social statistics alternately as state secrets and ideological weapons. Capitalist nations have tended to suppress statistics of wealth distribution.

  Nevertheless, statistical yearbooks and other serial publications remain historical sources of high importance. Coverage of prices, wages, GNP deflators, etc., has steadily improved in these works. So also has the accuracy of the data.

  The oldest national statistical yearbook in continuous publication is Britain’s Annual Abstract of Statistics, which first appeared in 1854, together with a volume summarizing data from 1840 to 1853. France began to publish annual statistical abstracts in 1876. Italy and the United States followed in 1878, Germany in 1880, and the Netherlands in 1881. During the twentieth century these compilations have begun to appear in most nations throughout the world.

  Except in French- and Spanish-speaking nations, most yearbooks now tend to appear in multilingual or bilingual editions. As recently as 1939, the international language of statistics was French. After 1945 it rapidly became English, and is increasingly so throughout the world. Today several non-English-speaking nations publish their statistical yearbooks in English alone. The leading materials are as follows.

  Bibliographical Guides

  Jacqueline Wasserman O’Brien and Stephen R. Wasserman, Statistics Sources (2 vols., Detroit, 1989 +), annual; a bibliography of current statistical materials, bibliographies, and online statistical data throughout the world.

  International Compilations

  United Nations, Statistical Yearbook and Monthly Bulletin of Statistics (1947 +); Monthly Commodity Price Bulletin (1969 +); Yearbook of Labour Statistics (1950 +) and Monthly Bulletin of Labor Statistics (1950 +).

  International Monetary Fund, International Financial Statistics (1948 +), monthly and annual.

  OECD, Main Economic Indicators (1965+), monthly.

  National Compilations: Australia

  Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics, Official Yearbook of the Commonwealth of Australia, from 1908 (Canberra, 1908 +), annual. The first volume includes data from 1901 to 1907 and some statistics from 1780.

  Austria

  Statistische Zentralkommission, Tafeln zur Statistik der Osterreichischen Monarchie, 1842–59 (Vienna, n.d.).

  Statistisches Zentralkommission, Statistisches Jahrbuch der Osterreichisches Monarchie, 1861–80 (Vienna, 1861–81), annual; idem, Osterreichisches Statistisches Handbuch, 1882–1917 (Vienna, 1882–1917), annual.

  Statistiches Zentralamt, Statistisches Jahrbuch für Osterreich, 1919–36 (Vienna, 1919–36), annual. Publication was suspended after the Anschluss.

  Statistiches Zentralamt, Statistisches Handbuch für die Republik Osterreich, 1950 + (Vienna, 1950 +), mostly annual.

  Belgium

  Institut National de Statistique, Annuaire statistique de la Belgique, 1870 + (Brussels, 1870 +) mostly annual; title varies: from 1912 to 1959 (vols. 42–80) it was published as Annuaire statistique de la Belgique et du Congo belge.

  Brazil

  Conselho Nacional de Estatistica, Anuario estatistico do Brasil, quinquennial from 1908/12 to 1970, annual from 1971 (Rio de Janeiro and Brasilias, 1913 +).

  Bulgaria

  Glavna Direktsiia na Statistikata, Statisticheski Godishnik na Tsarstvo Bulgari, also issued in French as Annuaire statistique du Royaume de Bulgarie, 1910–42, mostly annual (Sofia, 1909–41); idem, Statistickeski Godishnik na Narodnata Republika Bulgariia, annual, 1947/48+ (Sofia, 1948 +), also issued in English as Statistical Yearbook of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria, irregular, 1962+ (Sofia, 1962 +).

  Canada

  Census and Statistics Office, Canada Yearbook, 1905+ (Ottawa, 1906+), annual, text in English and French; idem, Prices and Price Indexes (1918–52) mostly annual, text in English and French; idem, Prices and Price Indexes, (Ottowa, 1952 +), monthly, text in English and French.

  Chile

  Dirección General da Estadistica, Anuario estadistico, mostly annual, 1848/58–1925 (Santiago, 1860+); Estadistica anual, mostly annual, 1928 + (Santiago, 1928 +).

  China

  China Yearbook, unofficial compilation, annual, 1912–39, (London, New York, and Tientsin, 1912–39).

  Chinese Yearbook, mostly annual, 1935/36–1944/45 (Chungking, 1935–46).

  State Statistical Bureau, Statistical Yearbook of China, annual, 1981 + (English language edition distributed by Oxford University Press, 1982 +); the 1986 edition includes consumer prices from 1950.

  Czechoslovakia

  Statni urad statisticky, Manuel Statistique de la Republicque Tchecoslovaque, annual, (Prague, 1920–32).

  Statisticka Rocenka Ceskoslovenske Socialisticke Republiky, annual, 1934–38.

  Statistical Handbook of the Czech Republic, 1942 (London, 1942).

  Statisticka Prirucka Slovenska, 1947–48.

  Statisticka Rocenka Ceskoslovenske Socialisticke Republiky, annual, (Prague, 1953–89).

  Statisticka Rocenka Ceske a Slovenske Federativni Republicky, annual, (Prague, 1990 +)

  Denmark

  Statistiske Bureau, Statistisk aarbog, annual from 1892 (Copenhagen, 1896 +); text in Danish and French to 1951, Danish and English thereafter.

  Finland

  Stattika Centralbyran, Suomen Tilastollinen Vuosikinja, mostly annual, 1879+ (Helsinki, 1883 +); text in Finnish, Swedish, and French 1934–52; Finnish, Swedish, and English 1953 +.

  France

  Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques, Annuaire statistique de la France, mostly annual, 1876+ (Paris, 1876).

  Germany

  Statistiches Reichsamt, Statistisches Jahrbuch für das Deutsches Reich, annual, 1880–1940/1 (Berlin, 1880–1941).

  Federal Republic of Germany, Statistiches Bundesamt, Statistiches Jahrbuch für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland, annual, 1952 + (Bonn, 1952 +); an abridged edition, Handbook of Statistics for the Federal Republic of Germany (Stuttgart, 1961 +), is published triennially in English.

  Staatliche Zentralverwaltung für Statistik, Statistiches Jahrbuch der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, annual (Berlin, 1955–90); also issued in English as East German Statistical Yearbook. Absorbed by the Statistiches Jahrbuch from 1991.

  Greece

  Ethnike Statistike Hyperesia, Statistike epeteristes
Hellados [Statistical Yearbook of Greece], annual from 1930 (Athens, 1931 +), suspended 1940–1953; text in Greek and French 1930–1939, Greek and English 1954 +; issuing agency and title vary.

  Hungary

  Kozponti Statisztikai Hivatal Magyar Statistikai Evkonyv, annual, 1871–90 (Budapest, 1870–90); idem, Magyar Statistikai Evkonyv Uj Folyam annual, 1893–1942 (Budapest, 1892–1941); idem, Magyar Statistikai Evkonyv, mostly annual, 1949–55 + (Budapest, 1957 +).

  Iceland

  Tolfraedihandbok, annual (Reykjavik, 1930 +).

  India

  India Office, Statistical Abstract Relating to British India, irregular, (London, 1840–1918).

  Department of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, Statistical Abstract for British India, annual, (Calcutta, 1920–47).

  Central Statistical Organization, Statistical Abstract of India, annual, 1949 + (Delhi, 1950 +).

  Indonesia

  Dutch East Indies, Centraal Kantoor voor de Statistiek, 1922/23–39 (Batavia, 1924–40).

  Indonesia Central Office of Statistics, Statistical Abstracts, irregular, 1955/56 (Djakarta, 1956+).